We're still in Sanford, FL, a few miles outside of Orlando, waiting for a new fuel tank to be fabricated. Rumor has it that it will be ready by next weekend, then I'm driving to Bradenton, FL via rental car to pick it up. I expect it will take a couple of days to install as I have to run new hoses and I'm rather slow at that. So with any luck we'll be on our way Thanksgiving weekend.

Meanwhile, I've been busy working on other maintenance projects, like varnishing, painting and sewing. I made a neat little bag for storing the drop boards that is now hanging on the bulkhead near the companion way.I also made a little bag to hold a winch handle at the mast, as I'm forever headed up there to do some work on the mainsail without a winch handle and have to trek back to the cockpit.... hopefully never again. I was a bit sewing crazy last week and even made a few tool rolls for organizing my tool collection and a lee cloth for keeping snug in a sea berth. We had a couple of anchorages in our recent Bahamas cruise where a lee cloth would have helped me get a good nights sleep. I hope to make some weather cloths and a new sail cover this week, and then I should be finished sewing for a while!

We've also spent time enjoying Sanford, FL. It's actually a nice little town. Our berth at the marina is only a couple of blocks from the main street which is filled with restaurants, little shops and a cute town square. One night we enjoyed a play at the local theater. Something seems to be going on every weekend, from art festivals, a bike rally, a food truck rally, Halloween activities, and outdoor concerts. There is a nice park along the lakefront, perfect for a run or walk and the local Methodist church is only a 10 minute walk. Thankfully we've managed to keep in food by visiting the Farmer's Market on Saturday mornings. An Ace hardware is a 4 mile RT bike ride down lovely avenue lined with big trees dripping with Spanish moss.

Yesterday we were invited for a run up the river in a friends Boston Whaler to have lunch at the Boat Tree MarinaColeen and I had great fun as we're not used to being in a boat going so fast! We enjoyed a nice hamburger lunch poolside. Later we took our new little crew member, Prince for a walk to the self-service dog wash. That was also a lot of laughs. It was sort of like a self service car wash for dogs...the soap came out of the hose, you flicked a button to switch to rinse, then conditioner.... totally a hoot.. So far we're enjoying having the little guy on board, but we'll see how it goes when we get underway. It's yet to be seen if he's a good sailor!

Check out our new Forum section. It's a work in progress, but take note of the Call for Crew section. I also added a few pictures under The Boat and the Pictures page.

As always we welcome your feedback on ways to make the website more enjoyable.